Nigeria soar to quarter-finals of U20 Women World Cup, draw China

An own goal in stoppage time by China PR, gave Nigeria a highly-dramatic one-one draw in Dinan-Lehon, with the Falconets claiming a spot in the quarter-finals from Group D at the FIFA Under-twenty Women’s World Cup France 2018.

China’s scored four minutes before half-time, as the diminutive Linyan Zhang turned her Nigerian marker in the box and stroked the ball past a diving Chiamaka Nnadozie to give the Asians the lead at the break.

The Super Falconets pushed hard in search of an equaliser until the end of the contest. With seconds left to play, substitute Aishat Bello’s byline cross from the right saw captain Rasheedat Ajibade challenge for the ball with China right-back Jiaxing Dou. Bello’s cross struck the Chinese defender before nestling in the back of the net and sparking emotional celebrations from the West Africans at the full-time whistle.